


Not Alone

by skelesincloset (ShadowAssault)



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Bad Puns, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Frisk And Reader Are Related, Hurt/Comfort, Maybe - Freeform, Mild Gore, Reader Is Not Frisk, Reader-Insert, but not really?, in which i skip some parts so i can write fluff, lazy writing, reader is female, reader loves vodka, so bad i hesitate to even call them puns
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-08
Updated: 2016-06-21
Packaged: 2018-07-13 20:56:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7136771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowAssault/pseuds/skelesincloset
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You and Frisk fall down Mt. Ebott<br/>What the fuck is this place? Nevermind.<br/>You play everyone's game for Frisk's sake.<br/>You play into the hands of a smol skeleton.<br/>Welp he has your heart.</p><p>Basically an alternate run of Undertale where Frisk doesn't fall alone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A new pal

**Author's Note:**

> I had a weird urge to write so here goes nothing.  
> I don't usually write so forgive if my vocab is shit/writing style is weird/can't settle on a consistent tense/dialogue is confusing/etc.  
> Comments and feedback are more than welcome; would love to know what you think >w

You supposed Frisk would have already gone through all this. Your guilt consumes you as you imagine how scared she must've been. She was only a young child. She was here because of you. All because you were a coward.

You push the heavy thoughts to the back of your mind as you examined the large set of purple doors in front of you. It wasn’t that Toriel was horrible or anything. On the contrary, she was extremely sweet to you, and she had assured you that was how she treated Frisk too. It was ironic, really, that monsters had more ‘humanity’ than actual humans. In fact, you’d always thought that humans were the real monsters.

But you really had to go. It saddened you to imagine her reaction to being left alone again, but you had to make sure Frisk was safe. This was your chance. Toriel was most certainly asleep, but there was no saying when she would wake. How alert were monsters to their surroundings anyway?

You lightly knock on the door to test it.

To your surprise, a deep lazy voice replied your knocking.

“Who’s there?”

You were slightly taken aback, but you pull off a quick one anyway. It was too good an opportunity not to seize, although it might not have been quite the appropriate time.

“Wood,” you said, noting the material of the doors.

There was a pause, and then “Wood who?”

“Wood you please help me open these doors?” Ba-dum-tsk. Your joke earned you a chuckle from whoever was on the other side of the door.

“Good one, kid.”

“But please,” you plead quietly, “I need to get out before Toriel wakes up. Can you help me?” What are the odds that he could help you though? The doors were locked from the inside, and if you couldn’t open them, he probably couldn’t either. But it was worth a shot. You didn’t want to have to rush back upstairs, grab the goodbye note you’d left for Toriel on the dining table, and abandon the plan. You were afraid that you would find her awake, reading it, disappointment on her face.

“Why should I help you?”

“H-huh?” He was right. He had no reason to. But desperate, you had to try. “M-my sister came through this way earlier on and….I-I have to find her!”

“You with Frisk?”

“Yes!!” you almost yelled out, excited that someone knew your sister.

“Hold out your hand. Don’t tell Tori about this, though.”

“Uh-uhm. Okay?” you hesitate for a moment, then put out your left hand, palm up to the door. You are surprised as a blue glowing key materializes in your hand. Whoa. Cool. You tentatively prod, then ran your fingers over the key. There was a grunt in response from the other side.

“Hey, mind if you don’t do that? It’s kinda uncomfortable.”

“Sorry!” Oh my god. How did he know? He could feel it? You fumbled with the key and almost drop it, but your quick reflexes caught it just in time. He yelped. You awkwardly stick the key into the lock and turn it. It clicked.

You push the door lightly, and are immediately assaulted by a gust of cold winter air. “Oh fuck-” you swore. You hated the cold, and outside was a winter fuckland. Nice. You reach to the lock to retrieve the key, but it was gone. Quietly, you slipped through the door, and gently closed it behind you. It took you a minute or so to carefully nudge the heavy door into place without making too much noise, and you released the breath you were holding as the door finally shut tight. You lean your forehead on the door and sighed.

“You ok?” Oops. You forgot about your saviour for a moment there.

“Y-yeah, thank you so much. I-I’m really grateful…really…” you turned around, and found yourself face-to-face with….a chubby skeleton? It was probably just the thick hoodie he was wearing, which you eyed with envy as another gust of icy wind cut through you.

“Heh, you do look like her,” he says, as he scans you from head to toe. You shifted your gaze to a nearby tree as he looked into your eyes. God, you were so awkward. “Hehe your eyes are small like hers too. Are you humans all like that?”

“W-what? Th-that’s…racist!” you laughed and hoped it didn’t offend him. He didn’t seem to mind.

“But they were beautiful.”

“What?”

“When I first saw your sister…her eyes were so full of innocence, hope, determination. All the good things that this place lacks,” he waved his hand casually at everything, “things that even you seem to have lost.” He was looking into your eyes again, perhaps searching for the same look in them that Frisk had. He didn’t have to say it, but you knew what he saw. Anger. Depression. Fatigue. Eyes that had seen too much of the world to have hope anymore. Eyes that gave away the real reason why you were here.

You looked back at him, and for a moment you thought you saw the same things reflected in his eyes- then it was gone. You shake your head. You were good at reading people, but maybe skeletons were not your skill level yet. But still you could not shake off the momentary connection you felt with this stranger, who seemed to understand you better than anyone else ever had.

“Um,” you shift uncomfortably under his gaze, “sorry but I think I have to hurry…Frisk could be in danger…”

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about her. I mean, my brother is a human hunting fanatic and all, but he’s really harmless. He would never hurt a fly or anything.”

“T-that’s totally a relief,” you commented sarcastically.

“Anyway, I’m Sans,” he held his hand out to you, “your name’s not like, Frolic or something, is it?”

“No?” you laughed and told him your name. “And you gotta try harder to hide that, ya?” You point at the mini whoopee cushion in his hand.

“Oops, busted. Your sister totally fell for it though,” he grinned even wider and put it back into his pocket. “Anyway, you look like you need some warmth,” he held out his hand to you again, this time without the whoopee cushion. “I can take you to Frisk. Unless you wanna go friskin’ about somewhere else.” He winked.

“Haha, very funny.” You hated it when people made fun of your sister’s name. Enough people already did. It made life so much more difficult for her. What were your good-for-nothing parents even thinking when they named her that? Fucking idiots.

“Come on.”

His voice jerks you away from your angry thoughts. Cautious, you study his skeletal hand for other possible pranks, before holding it.

Suddenly, the snow was gone. It was replaced by inviting warmth. You were in what looked like a shed, with four wooden pillars that stopped short of the ceiling, separating the room into two halves. The other half of the room was like an area for a dog. There was a pile of blankets, a water dish, and a food dish.

Puzzled, you turn to Sans for some kind of explanation. He was now holding another blue hoodie, except with fur lining the hood. He held it out to you.

“You can borrow this for a bit, maybe return it when you get to Hotland.”

“Thank you!” you accepted the jacket gratefully and wrapped it around yourself. It smelt like ketchup and hotdogs, which made your stomach rumble with hunger. “I-I’ll try not to dirty it until then.”

“Heh, don’t worry about it. Anyway I think my brother Papyrus is with Frisk now. They’ll be here soon, probably. I guess we can chill in the meantime.” He sits in the corner, and patted the space next to him.

“What’s he doing to her?” you stand there, not moving.

“Probably puzzles, or trying to capture her.”

“What?!”

“It’ll be okay. Trust me. Just relax, you look like you need some rest.”

You sigh, and walked over to sit beside him.

“So, uh. You heard about the whole barrier thing?”

“Yes.” You’ve read a few of Toriel’s history books to know enough about the underground.

“Have you, uh, decided what to do about it?”

“Somewhat.” You knew what he meant. You would have to kill King Asgore and get his soul to leave the underground. And even then, it would only allow one to leave. Of course, getting Frisk out would be your priority. But you did consider the other option. The one that would allow you to complete what you came here for.

“Hey, don’t worry too much. I’ll try to look out for you two when I can.”

“Thank you. You…don’t have to though. You’ve helped me enough even when you hardly know me…I…I’m really grateful for that. But Frisk is my responsibility. I’ll take care of her. Just…don’t tell Frisk, okay?”

“Yeah, ok.” He looks into your eyes again. This time, you meet his gaze, not surprised to see him give you a look of understanding. He did have a brother after all. You were sure that even monsters had the same love for their siblings as you had for Frisk.

 

* * *

 

Turns out Frisk was okay after all. In fact, she was more than okay. She had landed herself in a childish, innocent date with Papyrus. Like you, Sans was slightly taken aback too. He did not expect to hear a crash, followed by Papyrus screaming from the house, “SANS, WE’RE HOME. YOU WOULD NOT BELIEVE THAT I HAVE THE HUMAN!!! ON A DATE!!!!!!!”

You and Sans exchanged confused looks. He then grabbed your wrist, and suddenly you were somewhere else. In the foyer of a house. Facing a door. Staring in a daze as Frisk walked unharmed through that door.

“Sissy?” Frisk stopped in her tracks when she saw you.

“Frisk? Oh my god, Frisk! Are you okay?” You could hear Sans beside you laughing at the silly nickname.

“Sissy! It’s you!” she ran towards you as fast as her little legs could manage, and you bent down slightly to catch her hug in yours. “You fell down too in the end…” You could hear the sadness in her voice.

“SANS? OH MY GOD SANS DID YOU CATCH A HUMAN TOO? IS THAT YOUR HUMAN?” Papyrus asked excitedly.

“Heh calm down Paps. She’s the human’s sister.”

“OH MY GOD THEY’RE SISTERS? JUST LIKE THE BOTH OF US, SANS!! THIS IS WONDERFUL!!!”

“Uh Paps? I think we’re brothers.”

“SANS! THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!!! WE CAN ALL GO ON A DATE TOGETHER!!!!” Papyrus was over the moon.

You laughed at the exchange, and immediately take a liking to Papyrus. As Sans said earlier, you were sure Papyrus was the type who would never hurt anyone.

“Well, looks like you’re having fun here,” you pull away from the hug and ruffled Frisk’s hair affectionately.

“Yeah! Papyrus is really nice, Sissy! He made me spaghetti! It’s not as nice as yours but it’s ok!”

“Alright,” you laughed, “well be good, okay? Go on, your date’s waiting for you.” You gave her a gentle push towards Papyrus, and she runs off giggling. You stare at the both of them while Papyrus shows Frisk around the house, and a pleasant warmth you haven’t felt in a long time bubbles in your chest.

“Hey.” Oh. You forgot about Sans again. “I think they’ll take awhile. Wanna go grab something to eat at Grillbz?”

“Sure,” your stomach rumbled in agreement. You figure Grillbz was probably the local eatery or something.

“It’s not too far, ya mind walking?”

“Ok…let’s walk then.”

The cold wasn’t so bad with Sans’ jacket. In fact, you didn’t feel it at all. It was almost like magic. Grillby’s was a pub a little west of the skelebros’ house. When the both of you entered, everyone noticed Sans, and were quick to shower him with friendly greetings. You awkwardly follow him to one of the counter seats.

“So, what would’cha like? Fries? Burger?”

“As much vodka as I can get.” You empty your pocket of all the gold you got from the Ruins. The hot bartender gives you a nod, and goes to the back for awhile. He returns shortly with a small bottle of clear liquid and a shot glass. He pours you a shot, then sets the bottle and the shot down in front of you. Ignoring the sounds of protest your stomach gives you, you down the shot at one go.

“It’s not good to drink on an empty stomach, y’know.” Sans takes note of your self-destructive behaviour, but you ignore him.

“I’m going to die anyway,” you down another shot. “So why not sooner?” You reach for the bottle to pour another shot, but Sans puts his hand on yours and stops you.

“Grillbz, I’ll have two burgers and the usual.” Two burgers? Maybe the skeleton was actually fat after all. He turns to face you, “just be good and have a burger. It’s on me, ok?”

“You didn’t have to-” you protested. You were interrupted by Grillby setting a burger on your side of the counter, then the same and a bottle of ketchup on Sans’ side. Sans grabs the ketchup first, and waves it towards the shot in your hand, “care for some bloody mary?”

You smiled politely and shook your head. You liked your vodka as it was. He shrugs, “well, more for me then,” and proceeds to chug the whole bottle at once.

“So,” he puts down the empty bottle, “Frisk and Papyrus aren’t here. You can tell me.”

“Tell you what?”

“I dunno. I get the feeling you had it rough. I mean, we’ve never had two humans fall at the same time and all. Did something happen?”

You were tempted to just pour your troubles to this skeleton you hardly knew. You wanted so bad to tell someone how tired you were of life. Cry as you recount the hardships you had to endure just to earn enough to give Frisk a better life. But it’s ok. He probably had his own share of problems. You didn’t need to burden him with your own.

You simply reply “nothing,” quickly gulped another shot and almost choked.

“Heh sorry. I shouldn’t have asked,” he shrugged, “forgive my nosey-ness.” He points at his nose bone and grins. You giggle, slightly tipsy.

“Hey, you’re not drunk or anything right?” Sans widens one eye, as if raising his eyebrow.

“Nope,” you giggle again, “I’m better than that, ya?” It was true. Other than the uncharacteristic giggling, you were still thinking rationally.

“Really? Let’s see if you can bring that burger to your mouth then,” he points at your burger, “boy, am I looking forward to see you stuff that to your nose or something.” He’s grinning super smugly now. Of course you accept the challenge. You easily take a bite from the burger without smashing it ‘to your nose or something’. It was a good, simple cheeseburger. You beamed at Sans as you successfully took a second bite.

“That’s a good girl,” he chuckles. You realise he had just coerced you to eat. You looked down intently, a blush forming on your face, half from the vodka and half from the embarrassment of being praised and cared for.

He looks at his burger for a moment, as if in thought, then takes a bite out of it. “Take care of yourself ya? Your sister needs you.”


	2. I love you!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a short one because i'm lazy.  
> i mean, i'm busy with art. lmao.  
> really.

You grew fond of the skeleton. There was no denying it. You enjoyed seeing him and having long chats with him while Frisk used the SAVE and rested.

This time, you were near the waterfall area. You just watched him prank Frisk with the red eye telescope, then laughed and jokingly berated him as you bent down to rub her eye clean with your thumb. When you were done, you let Frisk go explore nearby. She said he heard the Nice Cream Guy.

“Why do you even have a telescope anyway? There aren’t any stars down here, right?”

“Maybe one day…monsters will go up to the surface again. Then I’ll be able to use this to see…Uranus.” He winked. What. You gave him the most disgusted face you could muster before breaking into laughter, “if that was an attempt at flirting, it was a horrible one.”

“Heh. It’s nice to have someone I can share these inappropriate puns with. It’s not everyday you find someone with your dark humour” Sans gazes up at the dark cavern ceiling. The gems that adorned it were beautiful, even if they weren’t stars. “But seriously, I’ve always wanted to see the night sky. The constellations, the alignment of the planets as they changed throughout the year…that was my dream.” He closed his eyes in a pained expression. “Welp. It’s just a dream. I doubt I’ll live to see that day.”

You sighed, “I feel you, bro.” That was your dream too – well, perhaps a little more ambitious. Before life had brutally crashed down on you, you had always wanted to be an astrophysicist. But life was cruel. Lemons were had in cartons. You had to drop out of school to provide for Frisk.

“Anyway, I heard from Paps. Undyne’s personally after you two huh?”

“Yes, I suppose.”

“You’ll be alright. I’ve seen you dodge bullets and protect Frisk at the same time. Undyne won’t be a problem for you.”

“I don’t know, she’s the head of the Royal Guard after all…”

“Just run when you can. If you can get her to Hotland, I’ll set something useful up for ya.” Sans winked. “Well, more like for the kid.”

“What? How about me? Are you showing favouritism towards Frisk??” you pretend to be mortified.

“Did I hear that right?” Frisk ran in from the next room, holding more nice creams than her small hands could handle. “Sans loves me more than he loves Sissy!” You laugh, but somehow feel a strange pang of jealousy.

“Whatever ya say, kiddo.” Sans smiled and pinched Frisk’s cheek.

“It’s okay, Sissy. I love you!” Frisk comes to your side and holds up a nice cream, “I brought you nice cream too!” Your heart melts faster than the nice cream. “Aww, thanks! I love you too, Frisk!” You take the nice cream and give her a hug. It’s strange that you feel happier underground than anywhere else on the surface.

“Remember to read the wrapper, it’ll make you happy!”

You unwrap the nice cream. It said ‘Love yourself! I love you!’. You laughed and showed Sans the wrapper. It was very apt indeed.

“Are you giving this to me?” he winked as he read the wrapper that was now in his hands.

“Mmm? If you want it?” You licked the nice cream. Coffee flavoured. It’s the best. “I could get you a nice cream if you want, you know. I’m sure Frisk and I have enough gold to get like ten more.”

“Nah, s’kay. I just like what this one says.” You see a tinge of blue on his cheeks…was that the reflection of the light from the gems? Probably.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WAS IT REALLY THE LIGHT FROM THE GEMS THO????? HUEHUEHUEHUEHU


	3. Kid

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're easily triggered by injuries and worms please look away.  
> It's not that bad, but y'know, just in case.

Just like Sans told you to, the moment Undyne released her death grip on both your souls, you hauled Frisk into your arms and ran. Thank god you were a thief before this on the surface. Running away while carrying heavy, precious things was not new to you.

 

You ran and ran. You could see Hotland just up ahead.

 

“PUNK! STOP RUNNING LIKE A COWARD!” Coward. Hah. That was not new to you either.

 

Undyne was closing in on you. You flinched as she threw a spear at you, and it grazed the side of your neck. Another whizzed past your leg, piercing the ground right beside your foot. It reverberated, smacking you hard on your calves. A memory of a woman with a thick cane in her hand comes to you. You remember her angrily beating your legs as you shielded your sister behind you. You couldn’t walk for days after that.

 

A scaly hand grabs your shoulder and yanks you back into reality.

 

“FACE ME, PUNK.” Undyne throws you down and hurls a barrage of spears towards you. You pulled the one that had just smacked you and used it to deflect her attacks. You didn’t know how long you could keep this up.

 

“Frisk, run to Hotland! Hurry up!” You urged your sister to escape without you. She was trembling uncontrollably with fear now, but she clearly still didn’t want to leave you behind, “Sissy- I can’t- what about you-” “I’ll be fine, just go!” You turn away to deflect another incoming attack.

 

“EH? THE OTHER ONE IS RUNNING AWAY? NEVERMIND THAT! I’LL JUST HAVE YOU! WE ONLY NEED ONE MORE SOUL ANYWAY!” Undyne cackles and charges at you. You wait for the right moment, dodging her spear and hitting her across the shins with the one in your hand. She stumbles a little, and you seized the tiny window of opportunity to flee again.

 

“NGAHHHHHHH!!!!!” Undyne cries in frustration behind you, but you had already run into Hotland. There was a sentry station at the entrance, and sure enough, you see Sans at his post…sleeping. Well fuck. You hope he remembered to set up whatever it was he said he would. You run past him, across the flimsy looking bridge that would normally have scared you to jelly legs land. Frisk was just on the other side, crying out to you.

 

Just as your left foot hits the solid ground, you suddenly feel an excruciating pain in your left thigh. You choked back a scream and looked down – one of Undyne’s spears had impaled your leg. As you fell forward, the magic dissipates, and the spear is gone. There was no blood, but the pain in your thigh was unbearable.

 

“Sissy! Oh no…nononono,” Frisk runs to your side, sobbing even harder now.

 

You hear a clanking sound behind you and shut your eyes, waiting for the finishing blow.

 

“Too…hot…”

 

Instead, you hear a loud crash. You turn around. Undyne had collapsed on the bridge, probably from the heat. She was a fish afterall.

 

“Oh no. W-what should I- ahh!” Frisk looked around frantically. “W-water!” she ran to a water dispenser nearby, hastily filling a paper cup with water. Her hands shook as she took the water to Undyne and carefully poured it to her. Undyne sighs in relief, and gets up after a moment. You wait for her next move. Silence. Then she just walks back towards the waterfall without a word.

 

You sigh in relief, but it turns into a gasp of pain as you accidentally move your left leg. Fuck. You kind of wish Undyne had killed you instead.

 

“Sissy, y-your leg…” Frisk held your hand in her tiny ones as you winced in pain. “I-I’ll go get Sans to help! D-don’t move too much okay?” You nod and try your best to smile for her.

 

You close your eyes and tried to think of something else other than the pain. Soon, you heard a pair of hurried footsteps running across the bridge towards you. You felt a bony hand hold yours. He was trembling, just like Frisk.

 

“You guys have to chill. I’m the one hurt and you two look more panicked than I am,” you joked.

 

“T-this isn’t the t-time to joke!” Sans’ voice was trembling too. “I-I’m gonna try to teleport you to m-my house. It might h-hurt a little-” suddenly, you were on a bed in a room you’ve never seen before. It was a horrible mess, but you instantly knew where you were. The smell of ketchup gave it away. Sans had managed to change your lying position with the teleport, and you were now on your back. You scanned the room and realised-

 

“Where’s Frisk?”

 

“Sorry, I couldn’t bring the both of you at once-”

 

“Bring her over now.” It was a command more than a request.

 

“B-but-”

 

“It only takes you a few seconds! She’s out there alone!”

 

“I d-don’t want to drain my magic anymore. I-I need to h-heal you…” Sans was trying hard to calm down. “L-look, don’t worry ok. There’s a SAVE there she’s probably using now. She’s a strong girl. You gotta give her more credit, ya?” You open your mouth to argue, but stopped and nodded reluctantly. He did have a point. Shaking, Sans reaches to the waist of your pants and undoes the button and zip.

 

“H-hey, can’t you just…heal without doing that?” You were shocked at his sudden brazenness.

 

“S-sorry. I-I gotta see how bad it is.” He pulls your pants down to your knees. You yelp as it brushes against your injury, and your whole leg feels like it’s on fire.

 

“F-fuck. T-this was worse than I expected. H-her spear went through, didn’t it?”

 

“Well, at least there’s no blood,” you try to be positive, despite seeing the huge reddish purple blotch on your leg. It didn’t look half as bad as it felt.

 

“No, not on the surface. There’s…a lot of internal bleeding.”

 

“That sounds great. No mess and all. Haha.”

 

Sans sighs and pulls off his hoodie. He finds the sleeve and holds it to your mouth. “It…it’ll hurt awhile. Just bite this and try to endure it, ok?” Shit, that must be some crazy pain. He shouldn’t have said that, because now you were starting to panic. But still you nod, and timidly clamp his hoodie sleeve in your mouth. He breathes deeply, placing his left hand on your chest and his right on your injured thigh. His eyes go dark, then the left begins to glow blue, and so do both of his hands. You feel a pressure holding you down.

 

“Don’t move.”

 

Before you could respond, you feel a searing pain in your leg. You bite down on his jacket sleeve and let out a muffled scream of agony. Fuck, this was worse than the actual injury. It wasn’t just the pain. You felt as if your muscle tissues were entwining themselves back together within your leg. Disturbingly, your brain also suggests that this might be what having hundreds of parasite worms wriggling in your leg feels like. Oh fuck no.

 

You writhe in pain. Or rather, you would have if he didn’t have his left hand on your soul, immobilizing you. Why was it taking so long? Tears well up in your eyes. You were drenched in sweat from the pain. You bite harder and screamed more. You felt like dying. Sans looked like he was in pain too. He was sweating profusely, his brow bones furrowed into a grimace. But you were in too much torture to feel bad for him.

 

Then suddenly, it stopped. Sans collapsed on top of you, his weight on your good leg, breathless. He was quiet, as were you. You both try to catch your breaths, and in the silence you hear his breathing in sync with your own, and feel the rise and fall of his chest complementing yours.

 

You suddenly felt like everything was right, despite the fact that you had just suffered from the worst pain possible, and there was a skeleton lying on you with your pants halfway down. Your brain screamed awkward, but your heart told you otherwise.

 

As the pain slowly subsided, so did your consciousness, and you peacefully drifted off to sleep.

 

\----------

 

You wake up in semi-darkness, with a faint blue glow emanating from somewhere below your head, and the early wisps of dawn filtering in through the window. You prop yourself up slightly, but stop as you feel a weight on top of you. Squinting to adjust to the darkness, you slowly realise that Sans was lying on you. The blue glow that shone through his shirt from his chest was probably his soul. You sneakily peer through the neck hole of his shirt, through the gaps between some bones you don’t know the scientific term for. Where a human would normally have a heart, a small, blue soul nestled there, beating. You thought that was really cute.

 

Gradually, the events of yesterday come back to you. Oh. Wait. No. Fuck. You jump up from the bed, disregarding the small skeleton and startling him awake.

 

“Frisk!” you croaked as your voice cracked from the dry winter air. You hurriedly pull up your pants, ignoring the soreness of your left leg, and limped out of the room. Oh no oh no oh no. How could you have left her alone? You would never forgive yourself if anything bad happened to her. Hotland was pretty far from Snowdin…hopefully you could hitch a ride with the hooded boat guy.

 

You ran down the stairs as fast as you could when-

 

“Fuck-” you cursed as you bumped into something hard.

 

“Sup, goin’ out so early?”

 

“What the fuck Sans?”

 

“You need to rest more, y’know. You’re not in a rush to leave the underground, are ya?”

 

“I-I forgot about-”

 

“The kid’s sleeping on the sofa, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

 

“Wait- how? What?” you felt like you were going to cry from the combination of the stress of before and the sudden relief of now.  The day had barely started and you were already tossed around in a sea of emotions.

 

“Eh, I picked her up after yesterday. You fell asleep almost immediately so I thought I shouldn’t bother you. You can thank me later,” he winked at you. You stare at him, mouth hung open, unsure of what to say. You figure it’s a bit too early in the morning to think.

 

“C’mon, it’s too early for breakfast. Grillbz hasn’t even closed for the night,” he chuckles, then takes your hand and gently pulls you towards his room. You turn around to check the sofa before you go. Sure enough, Frisk was sleeping soundly on the sofa, covered by a blanket. The relief truly settled in, and you allowed yourself to be led to Sans’ bed.

 

He fluffs the pillow for you and tucks you in. You feel warm and fuzzy inside. It’s comfortable, but the adrenaline from before keeps you awake.

 

“Sans? I can’t sleep.” You see his silhouette seated on the edge of the bed.

 

“What? You’re not even trying, kid.”

 

“Kid? W-Who are you calling kid? I’m not Frisk!”

 

“Heh, really? Then why do you have to be coddled and specially taken care of?”

 

“I do not!” You huffed and aggressively wrestle the blanket covering you, trying to throw it off. But it only gets tangled in your limbs, further trapping you in bed. Sans places his hand on your shoulder, and you calm down.

 

“Hey, it’s not a bad thing to be taken care of. Don’t keep carrying the world on your shoulders, ya?” You are silent. You don’t know what to say to that.

 

“Frisk is a sensible kid. You gotta trust that she can handle problems herself. I mean, she did pretty good with Undyne, didn’t she?” That was true. Frisk got along easily with everyone. First Papyrus, and now Undyne.

 

“You gotta stop taking bullets for others, ya? I’m sayin’ this as a friend, it pains me to see you getting hurt all the time. For your own good, just take care of yourself for once.”

 

You feel tears running down your face, you taste their saltiness as they roll into your mouth. You think of your life on the surface. No one has cared for you this way before. You always took it as a sign of weakness. Wanting care, attention, being needy – that was all unnecessary. You agreed with the flower in the ruins. With humans, it was always kill or be killed. You could only trust yourself to protect what you love. But deep inside, you knew that you envied all those who could properly love and be loved. You let out a loud sob as you thought of how pathetic you were.

 

As if reading your mind, Sans held his hand to your face, gently cupping it and wiping your tears. “It’s ok. Just remember, no matter how harsh the world is, there is always someone who genuinely cares for you.”

 

He paused, then mumbled, “and his name is Sans.”


	4. Lots of Talking

Sans insisted that you stayed an extra night because your leg needed more rest. You gladly obliged. The day after, he offered to walk you and Frisk to Hotland. He said he had a shift at a sentry station there, so it was on the way. As usual, Frisk energetically ran ahead, leaving the two of you to leisurely stroll behind.

 

“Sans, why can’t you just teleport us to Asgore?”

 

“Are you asking me to help you cheat?”

 

“What cheat? This isn’t a game, Sans!”

 

“Heh, I would know better. But where’s the fun in that? It’s your own story. If you didn’t go through all this, would you know what to do when you got to Asgore?”

 

“True…” you sigh. He was right. Being on this journey taught you a lot. You could even say it made you stronger. If you had gone straight to Asgore you’d probably have done something rash and stupid like get Frisk killed or tried to steal all the six souls but accidentally break them instead. Also, you would never have gotten the chance to spend more time with Sans.

 

“Sorry for asking. I wish I could do more myself…” you say, defeated. “Dammit, if only I had some sort of special power too. You guys have magic, and even Frisk has the power of SAVE. I feel so…useless.”

 

Sans stopped, and turned to face you. “Hey, don’t beat yourself up over that. Did’cha know that none of the six souls before Frisk had the power to SAVE?”

 

“What?” That was news to you.

 

“Yep, none of them had the level of DETERMINATION that Frisk had. But they all had other traits that brought them far enough to Asgore. Patience, Bravery, Integrity, Perseverance, Kindness, Justice. Maybe you’re one of them. Maybe you have something of your own.”

 

“Maybe I have nothing,” you said bitterly.

 

“I…thought the same thing too, before what you said.” Sans looked away and starting walking again. “I saw the humans and their strength. They were so unlike us. I felt so weak and fragile compared to them. Even amongst monsters, I’ve always been the frailest…”

 

“Sans…”

 

“And then you reminded me that I had magic. Something I never thought was special. And suddenly I’m thankful that I at least have that.”

 

“Sans…?”

 

“So don’t ever think of yourself that way, ok? You…you’re special to me. And Frisk.”

 

“T-that’s really sweet of you … thank you.” You feel a blush form on your face.

 

“Uh, anyway,” Sans waves his hand casually, trying to change the subject, “have you by any chance heard about-” he looks around and lowers his voice, “talking flowers?”

 

You immediately think of the flower in the ruins. It was the first being who talked to you after you fell into the underground. You remember it talk about ‘kill or be killed. You remember it offering you partnership when you expressed agreement to its pessimistic world view. “ _Oh, we could achieve so much together,_ ” it had said, with the most twisted grin you could possibly imagine on a flower.

 

Before you say anything, Sans continues talking, “Papyrus told me the other day, there’s been a flower talking to him at night when he sleeps, singing him praises and encouragement.” Sans’ hands fidget uncomfortably in his pockets. “I think someone has some ulterior motive, sending him echo flowers every night. But, for what?”

 

You knew then, that was no echo flower. It had to be Flowey. You tell Sans everything about your encounter with Flowey.

 

“Shit… I knew something was up.” The small white lights in his eyes had gone dim, “I have flashes of memories of a yellow flower, just like the one you described. It’s complicated, but I suspect it’s from the other timelines. They’re always like a dream…distant and blurry, and hard to remember.” He shakes his head, as if to clear his thoughts, “sometimes…I can’t even remember which is dream and reality anymore.”

 

“Do you think…this is a side effect of Frisk’s power to SAVE?” You ask nervously. You could tell that this whole issue was serious.

 

“Yes, definitely. In fact, I’ve done extensive research in the past about it-” his expression changes to one of worry and fear. “disruptions in the space-time continuum, quantum leaps of entire atoms, timelines jumping, stopping and starting…”

 

“I’ve actually done some theorising of my own, y’know, about how Frisk’s powers work. How they affect the physics of time that we’re familiar with.” Oh boy this was going to be interesting. Despite the graveness of the current situation, you could hardly contain your excitement to hear his opinions on the theories you’ve crafted in the past fortnight.

 

“So,” you start a little too eagerly, “I’m not so sure about alternate timelines, but I believe that isn’t related to SAVE. I think all this is happening in the same timeline. Calling it a timeline is kinda wrong, it’s more like a big ball of… timey-wimey… stuff.” You pause for maximum effect.

 

“Okay, go on…” You smile smugly, having successfully hooked Sans in.

 

“So like SAVE suggests, activating it saves the current state of the whole underground. Loading a SAVE is simply space and matter rearranging itself to a previously saved state. Likewise, since we’ve established that time isn’t linear, time can also ‘rearrange’ itself to an earlier state.”

 

“Sounds good so far,” Sans nodded thoughtfully. You feel a surge of happiness at his validation.

 

“And things like memories, consciousness, and souls, aren’t exactly matter, so they can’t return to their previous state. That’s why you remember some things from before.” You pause again, this time to catch your breath. You also had to address the assault of fears that were swarming your mind now.

 

“I…I’m worried though, like what if everything resets?”

 

“Heh, d’you not have a theory for that?” Sans looks at you curiously.

 

“Actually I do…resetting is just loading a backup. A backup that is at a fixed time in the past. Problem is…” your voice trails off. You were slightly embarrassed to say what was next.

 

“Problem is?” Sans was genuinely interested, and was now staring intently at your face, waiting for an answer.

 

“A-ah! N-nevermind! Forget I said that!”

 

“C’mon, you can’t just leave me hanging. I know we agreed to _hang_ out together but this is just-”

 

“Sans!”

 

“Is it a flimsy theory? Tell me, we can think about it together.”

 

“No, it’s-“

 

“Are you worried I won’t _react_ well to it? I know I’m a huge nerd, but I’m not in- _nerd_ y’know?”

 

“Saaaannnnssss!” Maybe you should just say it, before the puns get worse. “Okay, I’ll say it, but…don’t laugh at me, promise?” Sans nodded. “Well…the backup is b-before-” you stutter, “before I came. I-I’m scared that resetting will make me forget…” you begin to blush deeply. “What if all this is reset and I don’t get to meet you again?”

 

“Heh, is this what the fuss was about?” Sans seemed surprisingly chill about it. “Hey, reset or not, you’re still you. Dorky silly nerdy you. I’m sure we’ll be good friends again.” He gives you a reassuring smile.

 

“I don’t know, Sans.” You crack your knuckles one by one, a nervous habit you have. Sans flinches a little, but you don’t notice. “To be honest, if it wasn’t for you, I would have slashed my way to Frisk. It…would’ve been a bloody mess. I might even have…hurt…Papyrus…”

 

“Then I’ll remember.” Sans reaches for your hand and gently holds it in his own. The unexpected physical contact takes you by surprise. His cool touch feels good in contrast to the heat in Hotland. “I’ll find you before that. Every reset.”

 

You only smile weakly at him. You know that wasn’t possible. Who knew how many resets there would be in the future. There were endless permutations of what could happen in a run after each reset, and it was impossible for both of you to meet in the same circumstances all the time. You appreciated it anyway.

 

“Er,” Sans abruptly withdrew his hands from yours and put them in his pockets again. “Well, enough about the heavy stuff. You should drop by my place sometime, then I can show you some of my research papers and stuff.”

 

“Hmm…? Again? I’m not going to make much progress if I keep backtracking you know?”

 

“Heh, no worries about that. I can give you a ride. Besides, Paps has been wanting Frisk to hang out with Undyne.”

 

“No please,” you immediately disapprove. The memory of her spear was still fresh in your mind (and leg).

 

“You don’t have to go too. That’s why I said you could come to my place instead.”

 

“But Frisk-“

 

“C’mon, Undyne’s not that bad. She’s not gonna hurt someone who saved her life. You really gotta chill, ya? Frisk is handling everything way better than you think.”

 

“Alright,” you give in, “but not too often, okay? I still have to get to King Asgore.”

 

“I guess,” Sans shrugged, “anyway we’re here.”

 

“Where?” you look around. You just noticed that you’ve arrived in front of a two-storey white building. Frisk was waiting at the entrance of the building.

 

“Just go through here, the road’s pretty straightforward.”

 

“You’re not coming along?”

 

“Nah, I gotta return to my post. See ya later then.” With that, Sans turns to leave, and disappears.

 

His sudden absence leaves you feeling strangely lonely. You try to hide the disappointment on your face. You can never get used to how he just suddenly teleports away.

 

“Hurry up, Sissy! The faster we go the sooner you’ll get to see Sans again!” Frisk giggles as she teases you.

 

“W-what? No! I don’t-” you frantically try to deny it. You make your way quickly to Frisk, and groan when she shoots you a mischievous look and giggles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the kinda boring chapter.  
> I tried to write some development and slow it down a bit but idk.  
> I'm really not writer material ;~;
> 
> Also chatting about scifi-level physics is my kind of romantic. I hope you like that too lmao.


	5. All’s Fun and Games

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> no fluff in this, just plot progression to keep my writing in check.  
> you can skip this if you're here only for the Sans fluff stuff.

As soon as you and Frisk entered the white lab building, you were met by an excited squeak. A yellow…lizard?...dinosaur?? in a lab coat and huge round glasses timidly peered out from the stacks of papers on a nearby table. It was a messy table – much like your own on the surface, you noted. It was crammed with papers, coffee mugs, uncleared cup noodles and the like, save for a small rectangular space in front of which a chair was placed.

 

“Oh my god!!!” the yellow dinosaur squeaked in excitement, “I-I’ve been expecting you two!!! I-I- My name is Alphys, I’m the Royal Scientist! N-Nice to meet you!!”

 

Alphys was so excited, she continued without pause, “I-I’ve been monitoring- um- watching your journey through the- uhhhh- s-security cameras in the Underground and I-I just want to say that I’m such a huge fan of what you’ve done!!”

 

She stepped towards Frisk, “I saw how you made friends and got along with everyone! And for saving Undyne- thank you so much! Your determination is just so inspirational!!”

 

Then she rushed forward to you, her eyes sparkling with admiration. “And you, your fighting is amazing! I’ve seen your fight with Undyne, you’re so cool like her!!” She does a small excited dance on the spot. “And oh my god- you and Sans are so cute togetherrrrrr!!! I, like, ship you two so much!!!”

 

Frisk burst out in laughter on hearing that, to which Alphys responded by hastily wiping the excitement from her face and apologising, “oh, I’m sorry! W-Was that weird? I shouldn’t have said-”

 

“Oh, _no_ ,” Frisk said before you could do anything, “you’re totally right! I keep telling Sissy but she keeps denying it!” Oh god no.

 

Alphys’ face lit up again with excitement. “You think so too? Oh my god Frisk you need to tell me all about them!”

 

“Sure I will!” Frisk laughed. Great. They’re ganging up on you now. You can’t wait to tell Sans about this. Then maybe you’ll have someone on your side too. You cross your arms and pretend to sulk while Frisk and Alphys continue their conversation enthusiastically. You hear squeals from Alphys now and then, accompanied by Frisk’s uncontrollable giggles. Well. At least she was having fun, albeit at your expense.

 

You figure Frisk would be fine with Alphys, so you opt to take a look around the lab while they were occupied. There were escalators at each end of the lab – one going up, and the other down. You took the one going up, and found yourself in a narrow space with a travelator that stretched from where you stood, to where the other escalator was. Against the wall on the right were tables and various workstations. They weren’t as messy as the one downstairs, but they were not spared from being smothered by Alphys’ many papers.

 

You take a look at a few of those papers. There were a few things you didn’t understand – for example, a file with a research report that Alphys apparently wrote all about souls and determination. It was very technical, with sections detailing the parts of the brain (your intelligent guess of whatever an _amygdala_ was), extraction process for some weird hormones, and many other things foreign to you.

 

Some of the other papers however, you could decipher. Among them was a blueprint for a robot, and a book documenting a programming language Alphys created especially for coding features for the Underground’s mobile phones. You were impressed by her extensive mastery of the sciences – you could clearly see why she was the Royal Scientist.

 

“Um, don’t mind the m-mess up here! I didn’t really have the time to clean it up…” You turn your head to see Alphys standing beside you nervously with Frisk behind her.

 

“It’s okay,” you say, “I, uh, looked at some of your papers and I’m really impressed with your work.”

 

“H-huh?” a deep blush appeared on Alphys’ face. “That- I-It’s not really that good…”

 

“I think it’s excellent! I don’t think many people are able to do all this – that bio stuff, engineering a robot…hell, you even wrote a new programming language? This is crazy fucking good!”

 

“T-thank you! Y-you really think so…?” Alphys looks at you, then to Frisk for confirmation. Frisk nods vigorously, “if Sissy thinks you’re good, then you are! Sissy is good at science-y stuff too!”

 

“Y-you guys are too nice to me!” Alphys’ eyes water, and she almost looks like she’s going to cry of happiness. But suddenly-

 

**_CRASH._ **

****

What the fuck? It sounded like someone had broken through a wall downstairs, and the shaking of the floors sure felt like it too.

 

“Darlings? Am I late to the party?” a robotic, yet strangely melodic voice came from downstairs.

 

“Met-Mettaton? No-not ye-” Alphys looked terrified and panicked. She scurried downstairs, while you and Frisk followed.

 

“Oh, there you are!” The voice was from a boxy robot – the one you saw from the blueprints upstairs. “WELCOME, BEAUTIES…… TO TODAY’S QUIZ SHOW!!!” It was practically screaming at everyone now. You momentarily block out his words, as his loud voice was…annoyingly loud and distracting. You could feel the onset of a headache. Suddenly, you were thrown into the darkness of a battle. Except…it wasn’t a battle? Confused, you look up to see a screen with four options displayed on them, each labelled ‘A’ to ‘D’.

 

“WELL, DARLING? WHAT WOULD YOUR ANSWER BE? TIME IS TICKING!” What? You weren’t paying attention. You didn’t even hear the question.

 

“I think it’s D!” Frisk yelled.

 

“RIGHT! SOUNDS LIKE YOU GET IT!” Wait, get what?? “HERE’S YOUR TERRIFIC PRIZE! WHAT IS THE KING’S FULL NAME?” Oh. You know that. Thank god you read Toriel’s books before leaving the ruins.

 

“C, Asgore Dreemurr,” you answer.

 

“CORRECT! WHAT A TERRIFIC ANSWER!” You feel oddly accomplished, and Frisk claps for you. A game show huh? You could do this.

The questions were somewhat hilarious, and also easy to answer. Except the one math question about the two trains. You were so shocked by the drastic change that it took you an embarrassing twenty seconds to do the calculations in your head. But then it got worse.

 

“HOW MANY FLIES ARE IN THIS JAR?” What? How were you supposed to know? You looked at Frisk. She was staring at the jar and rubbing her imaginary beard as if in thought. Was she really counting the flies??

 

“54!” Frisk yelled her answer.

 

“CORRECT! YOU’RE SO LUCKY TODAY!” Mettaton waved his hands in fake celebration and turned a circle on his wheel. You turned to Frisk for an explanation. She was looking at you too, with a silly grin on her face. She winks and whispers to you, “I got this, Sissy!”

 

She wasn’t lying. You don’t know how she did it, but she was getting the correct answer for even the most absurd trick questions. Then there was the last one, asking about who Alphys’ crush was.

 

“Hey Sissy,” Frisk nudged you, “I think it’s Undyne. What do you think?” You remember that when you both entered the lab, Alphys did talk about Undyne. In fact it was the only person besides you both she mentioned. If you remembered correctly, she had also said Undyne was cool. Yup, probably Undyne. You nod at Frisk in agreement.

 

“Okies, Undyne it is then!” Frisk yelled gleefully.

 

“SEE, ALPHYS? I TOLD YOU IT WAS OBVIOUS.” Alphys was covering her face with her hands in embarrassment now. You couldn’t help but double up in laughter. You were SO gonna tell her how much you shipped her and Undyne later. Oooh that payback.

 

“UNTIL NEXT TIME, DARLINGS!!!!” Oh, it’s over? You look up just in time to see Mettaton wheel away back through the hole he made in the wall.

 

“I-I’m so sorry about that!” Alphys frantically apologised, “well I guess it can’t be helped!”

 

“It’s okay! Sissy and I enjoyed it!”

 

“Yup, I have a new ship now,” you smirk.

 

“Anyway!” Alphys said unnaturally louder than usual, “let’s exchange numbers! Then you can call me if Mettaton gets a bit troublesome, or if you need any help.”

 

“Okay, sure!” Frisk fished out the phone Toriel gave her from her pocket and handed it to Alphys.

 

“Oh my god! This phone is ancient!” Alphys exclaimed. “Here, I’ll upgrade it for you.” She took out a screwdriver from her lab coat, and began to unscrew the cover of Frisk’s phone. Frisk watches in awe as Alphys removes a few chips from the old phone and transfers it into a new case she pulled out of her pocket. She also pulls out a portable solder and a few other spare parts (how big is her lab coat pocket?!), and begins to piece the new phone together on the spot.

 

It didn’t take long for her to be done. Alphys hands the phone back to Frisk, “I upgraded quite a few functions, added my number and added you on social media. You can access boxes from your phone now too.”

 

“Woah, super cool! Thanks, Alphys!” Frisk powers her phone on, and starts to explore its new functions. She looked really amazed with it.

 

“Um, can I have a word with you?” Alphys had gotten really close to you and was trying to speak as softly as she could. It took you by surprise.

 

“Uh, okay…?”

 

“This way,” she leads you to the corner beside the lab exit.

 

“So, what is it you wanna say?”

 

“Um, about Undyne…” Alphys shifted awkwardly and looked down at her feet, “I saw what happened. I’m sorry for what she did…”

 

“That’s it?” you raised an eyebrow. It wasn’t as big of a deal as you’d expected.

 

“Undyne is just…really passionate about her job! Please don’t hate her for it…” Alphys’ voice trailed away. “And, um…I hope your leg is feeling better. I know Sans fixed you up but you should have this.” She holds out a small canned drink to you. You take it.

 

“Is this…coffee?”

 

“Not just any coffee. It’s Alphys’ Mew Mew Coffee!” Alphys rubs her hands together eagerly as she explained, “I formulated this, and it’s what I always drink. It’s like a really powerful energy drink that’ll restore you to full health and perfect condition! It works for wounds too, just give it, um…an hour maybe?”

 

“That’s…cool.” You wish you had gotten this earlier instead. “Thanks, Alphys.”

 

“N-no problem!” she beams at you, “well, you, uh, better get going. I-I have to go to the bathroom!”

 

“Ok…bye.”

 

“See you around…heh.”

**Author's Note:**

> uh. tell me if i need better spacing/formatting or smth


End file.
